CELDT Level 2

Characteristics:

• Students in this level are able to:
  • Speak, read, and write simple sentences
  • Retell events and recall simple facts
  • Define an idea using both pictures and writing
  • Follow directions without modeling
  • Ask and answer factual questions
  • Analyze ideas with teacher assisted scaffolding
  • Read picture and pattern books
  • Label diagrams or pictures with assistance
  • Frequent grammatical errors in writing and speaking
  • Make lists and categorize objects

Teacher Tips:

• Vocabulary is best understood when presented thematically
• Teach concrete vs. abstract vocabulary words
• Presenting information in context is helpful
• Students respond to questions better when the answer is presented in the question.
  • Example: Did you go to the market or the library?
• Ask literal questions (who, what, where) to help them generate simple responses
• Read books with vivid pictures to help student understanding
• Use hand signals to check for understanding
• Discovery and build on prior knowledge (language experience strategies)
• Model appropriate speech for students
• Play word games for fluency
• Singing and chanting may help with memory and concepts
• Encourage invented spellings
• Journal writing can be helpful to determine student learning and feelings as well as development.
• Provide comfortable situations for student communication; no pressure

Some Possible SDAIE Strategies:

• Choral Reading
  • Choral reading is when a group of students, or the whole class, read aloud in unison. For early intermediate students, this reading strategy will help build confidence, fluency, and motivation to read. The students will not be as self conscious about reading because they have the support of their classmates to help them along. This is allowing students to practice their reading skills without the pressures of solo reading. They will hear modeled fluency and become more familiar with sight words as they continually see them in context.
  • Be sure to choose a book that is fairly easy to read for the majority of the students and has patterns or predictable text. This will help the students catch on and quickly become involved.
  • The teacher should read the text first so that students hear the story and the modeled reading habits prior to embarking on the choral read.
• Think - Pair - Share
  • Think - Pair - Share is a discussion strategy that can be used to assess comprehension and encourage student discussion. The strategy works in three stages. First students think about the question the teacher may have provided or the story at hand, etc. Then, they are paired with a neighbor to discuss what they were thinking about. Finally, they pairs then share their thinking with the class, helping to generate a whole classroom discussion. For early intermediate students, this is an excellent strategy. They are capable of participating in discussion, but may still be unsure of how they want to phrase their thoughts or they may be nervous about sharing what they think in front of the whole class. By giving students time to think about what they want to say, the early intermediate student is given a chance to formulate thoughts without feeling pressured by the class. Then, by sharing in pairs, the students can feel more comfortable voicing their opinions because the entire class is not listening in. Finally, sharing in front of the class becomes less stressful when the students are able to share in pairs.
  • This strategy encourages participation, but lessens anxiety.

Student Activities in Class:

• Play interactive word games (encourages fluency and vocabulary development)
• Encourage story comparisons - either to previous stories read or to real life experiences
• Read with partners
• Develop familiarity with word families
• Assist in creating group stories
• Make and read big books
• Continually work on vocabulary development